WUFOO is a site that allows "making forms easy + fast + fun." Take a look at the wufoo site (you’ll need to create a login; then look at the multiple choice form) and determine if any of the Chapter 6 error handling techniques are used. If so, please describe. To find errors, make lots of mistakes and see how they’re handled.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Mark Rodriguez Blog #09
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Andrew DeVoe - Blog Assignment #9
The website is extremely simple and straightforward. Whatever game you could be looking for a guide for, you just type it in. The layout of the site is simple as well, the whole design is made with columns. That's pretty much it. So, once you figure out the flow of the first page (and you will easily do so in no time), then the rest of the pages are just as easy to navigate. I feel this site is a good representation of the material presented in the chapter as well as theme 4 of good design. Simple, eh?
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Blog Assignment 9-James Berghoff
Tanner Sheridan Blog 9
Tanner Sheridan
Blog 9 - Janelle Velkoff
Steve Flockenhaus-Blog 9
Blog 9 - Stephen Miller
evan Samuels - Blog post #9
Monday, March 22, 2010
Yong Hyun Kim - Blog Assignment #9
An example of a website containing uniformity, consistency, meaning, as well as providing ease of learning is google.com. Google website is simple as it looks. The users don’t need to analyze the website before actually start using the website. There is just a search box, that is all which Google.com provides at first screen. And the two buttons below the search box seems clear enough for new users to use as they are stated.
Jeff Lewis Blog 9
An example of a website that uses these things to create an ease of learning is youtube.com. It follows uniformity and consistency by aligning your results in the same pattern each time you search for something. It also keeps the search box in the same location no matter what you do. It does a good job of minimizing chrome which allows more room for what you really want to see.
Bethany Hufford - Blog 9
A good example of this is Gmail. Gmail uses very simple colors. Everything is done in shades of blue except for the logo. All of the headings for folders within the mailbox and other links are always aligned in the same spot no matter which folder you are in. The page also uses a consist font that underlines important headings. All of the messages are displayed in a similar matter with unread messages highlighted. This consistency and uniformity makes it easy for a new user to learn how to navigate through the website.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Kym Pagel Blog 9
An example is the Blogger Dashboard which all of us have access to. There aren't any real ads to clutter up the space and all of the content within the page is restricted to the middle of the page and aligned to particular spots on the left and right of that middle portion. The width and formatting are consistent throughout the site, so even if you go to a new page you still get a feeling of familiarity. White space is used to separate the interaction elements but not to the detriment of the user because it is still easy to locate and navigate different headings and tabs. The tabs used throughout the site are an example of design patterns, and they are easy to find and use.
Chris Hall Blog #9
The reason this site is a good example is it follows many of the rules and suggestions laid out in chapter seven regarding design and consistency. Right off the bat you notice that there are not very many colors on the site (with the exception of the advertisements). This site also follows the rules about alignment in the sense that entire site is contained inside a single columns which is broken down into smaller columns. The site also follows chapters sevens notion of consistency, in that the banner at the top and the side bar navigation are the same size and in the same place throughout the site.
While some might say that this site feels a little too crowded, and violates the notions of proportion that are discussed in chapter seven, once a user starts to explore the site they find out that most of that crowded feeling is due to the large amount of actual content and not design elements such as logos, navigation bars, and advertisements (with the exception of the one just below the banner).Over all I feel this site is a great example for the ideas of ease of learning as well as consistent design.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Enrique Pérez Blog #9
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Week 09 Blog Assignment
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Steve Flockenhaus-Blog 8
Monday, March 8, 2010
evan Samuels - Blog post #8
#8 - Nik Spurgetis
Other students have mentioned the dialog that YELLS at you when trying to navigate away from a form-in-progress. This is indeed fresh (and amusing) and cuts down on the confusion that ensues on other sites when a similar mechanism is employed.
Mark Rodriguez - Blog #8
Week 08 Blog
Blog Assignment #8
Jeff Lewis Blog 8
After saving the form it makes the user feel smart by saying "Awesome. Your form is saved...what do you want to do now?" This makes me feel like I am correctly using the software and I am therefore more likely to use it again.
Another good use of turning errors into opportunities was found when I clicked on "Reports". Instead of saying something rude like "error no reports exist" it says a helpful message that encourages me to create a new report.
When signing in if you mess up on your email address or your password it points out which one is incorrect. This is a good use of inline validation that Hoekman suggests.
blog 8 - janelle velkoff
Blog 8
Once I have created a valid account, the application prompts me to begin making forms. This is an example of a clear and simple message to help keep the user moving forward in the application. While creating a form, I try to navigate away from the page and the application responds by displaying a message asking me if I am sure I want to navigate away from the page without saving. This is an example of a prevention device, because it prevents the user from navigating away from the page and losing their progress.
Tanner Sheridan
Bethany Hufford Blog #8
This first thing I did on Wufoo was sign up for an account where I made my first mistake of not entering a correct URL. After I hit ‘Create an Account’ the same page popped up with all of my information in it, but there was a pink box around the URL I entered that contained red text stating that my subdomain could only consist of letters and numbers. I reentered a subdomain and continued on to the next page.
The home page immediately tells me that I have not made any forms, which tells me what the next step is before allowing me to make an error by trying to do something without creating a form. When I go to make a new form it immediately tells me I need to add fields while also telling me how to do this. This is considered inline validation.
The name thing about Wufoo is their ability of turning a negative error message into a positive learning situation. When no forms or fields have been completed they state that you need to do this while also giving you exact instructions on how to complete this task.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Enrique Pérez Blog #8
Kym Pagel Blog 8
Another error I can get, which may or many not actually be an error, is when you select 'Logout'. It opens an inline prompt where you can select either Yes, leave or No, go back. If you select Yes without saving then the following text is displayed in an alert box, which locks activity to other tabs of the program (application modal).
"Are you sure you want to navigate away from this page? \ YOU HAVEN'T SAVED YET AND
YOU'LL BE ABANDONING YOUR CHANGES\ Press OK to continue, or Cancel to stay on the current page."
This is a good idea, but personally I've never been fond of the whole confusing OK=continue Cancel=Stay bit that so many prompts use. This is a helpful error message because it clearly states WHY you are receiving the message.
In general all their error messages are basically the same: they're inline but darken the rest of the page and render it so that it cannot be accessed until the error is dealt with. The site does a good job of displaying what the problem is and why it cannot or should not be done. For example when I try to delete the last field in my form it displays the problem and the reason in exactly the way I just specified. When I try to use content that is limited to users who have an upgraded subscription, an inline text box is displayed, similar to the one achieved when first attempting to log out. It explains why this feature cannot be used and gives instructions on how to get an upgraded subscription. This is a helpful error message, but it is also modal, so it's not perfect.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Chris Hall Blog #8
Once you finish editing a form and you have saved it the application gives you a set of options to pick, continue editing, setup email, or return to form manager. At the top of this message is the phrase “Awesome. Your form is saved” which lets the user know everything went as planned and makes them feel good about it. This is another example of putting a positive spin on and otherwise negative situation. The application also offers users help in two ways, first by having little (?) links beside boxes which allow the user to access a detailed, yet simple explanation about what that box is intended for. Making this a link makes it so that the user does not have to read any explanations unless they ask for one (by clicking on the link). The second way is with their help page. This application seems to have taken Hoekman’s advice about making full use of your help page to heart. Finally, if you close the page (like on accident) without saving the changes you have made the application kindly generates a pop up message saying “YOU HAVEN'T SAVED YET AND YOU'LL BE ABANDONING YOUR CHANGES.” This is nice for people who accidently click the close button.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Week 08 Blog Assignment
WUFOO is a site that allows "making forms easy + fast + fun." Take a look at the wufoo site (you’ll need to create a login; then look at the multiple choice form) and determine if any of the Chapter 6 error handling techniques are used. If so, please describe. To find errors, make lots of mistakes and see how they’re handled.